MIB - Flyin' Gold Cone

A SciFi Comedy Spaceship Kitbashed from a FlisKit and flyin' on one or two MicroMaxx Motors

I decided t' build a Comedy Sci-Fi Rocket from Men In Black II. Arrr! T' ship in question be t' gold chromed ice cream cone shaped vessel. It figures prominently in t' openin' "news reel" sequence as a recreation o' eye witness accounts. Ahoy! Aye aye! T' ship heads back t' Earth early in the film. Begad! It is shown passin' through space and wieldin' immense destructive power. T' flyin' cone crashes t' Earth in an apparently immense plume o' dirt. Avast, me proud beauty! We discover t' true size o' t' ship when a small dog investigates it after the ship crashes in a park.

My recreation o' t' MIB Flying Gold Cone be built in approximately 1:6 scale, me hearties, so that it can be displayed with a kitbashed MiB action figure I created. Begad! Blimey! With that as a goal, ya bilge rat, matey, it was important t' preserve/restore t' cone shaped nature o' t' ship while on display. Blimey! Blimey!

T' only structural elements not from t' FlisKit are pieces o' a Bic Round Stick pen used as engine mounts and launch lug, an expended MicroMax engine used in creatin' a cluster adaptor, and a piece o' threaded rod used t' weight t' nosedome. Well, blow me down!

I fashioned t' lower cone from t' large nose cone. Begad! Blimey! I drilled it out and inserted some BiC stick as an engine mount. Avast! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! Small diameter body tube serves as an engine block and ejection gas conduit. A shorter nosecone was sanded t' fashion t' nosedome. Aye aye! Blimey! This be drilled out and a threaded rod inserted t' weight t' nose. Blimey! Blimey! A small section o' body tube serves as t' coupler betwixt t' two nosecones. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! A section o' t' kevlar thread from the FlisKit connects t' two nosecones together. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Blimey!

I fashioned t' bent legs by steamin' t' stick stock from t' FlisKit and hand formin' t' desired shape. These are glued into holes hand drilled into t' upper end o' t' main body.

I created a cluster adaptor that allows two MicroMaxx motors t' be attached t' t' single MMT in t' lower cone. Begad! Begad! I did this by bondin' two Bic stick sections together and bondin' a spent MMX casin' between the bonded MMTs. T' Bic plastic be heat formed around t' MMX casin' to direct t' ejection charge gasses from both lower engines up into t' spent casing. Avast! T' cluster adapter is used by insertin' t' spent MMX casin' into the main MMT. T' threaded rod in t' upper nosedome allows t' installation of extra balance weight when t' lower engines are installed. Arrr! Blimey!

To restore t' cone tip for display I created a display tail from a small nosecone and body tube found in t' FlisKit. Avast! T' tail fits into t' main MMT and provides t' pointy end for t' cone when it is on display.

I painted t' entire assembly with gold acrylic usin' a brush. Nay stylish, matey, but sufficient for this scale.

T' single engine configuration can be launched on a standard MicroMaxx launcher. Blimey! I epoxied a small section of Bic pen inktube t' t' bodytube t' serve as a MMX launchlug. Arrr! I launched t' MIB Flyin' Gold Cone on a single engine. Ahoy! Aye aye! It flew flawlessly, with a stable flight up t' about 50 feet. Avast! Blimey! T' ejection charge separated t' nosedome rather early (as is often t' case with MMX motors). Begad! Begad! T' resultin' non-aerodynamic configuration smartly slowed and tumbled down t' land about 15 feet from the pad. Well, blow me down! A perfect backyard flier. Avast, me proud beauty!

T' MIB Flyin' Gold Cone features a handrolled paper launch lug for use on a MMX launchpad. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! This replaces an earlier version made from a BIC Pen ink tube. Also included is a standard launch lug as found in t' FlisKit Grissom kit. Aye aye! Multiple small lengths of stick stock from t' FlisKit were added just below t' nosedome separation point. Begad! Begad! These were carved, arrr, shiver me timbers, sanded, me hearties, arrr, and painted t' approximate t' design details from t' movie version o' t' ship. Avast! Avast!

T' MMX cluster adapter was also refined. T' initial implementation, usin' BIC barrels and expended MMX be set aside. Well, blow me down! Blimey! A lighter version was fashioned from glue soaked rolled paper and a small diameter body tube from t' FlisKit. T' design be t' same, with two side by side MMTs ventin' into a single central tube that fits into t' main MMT. By soakin' the upper paper in yellow glue, me bucko, I was able t' mold it t' transition smoothly into the central body tube.

T' first attempt at a MIB Flyin' Gold Cone cluster flight met with mixed results. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! I fashioned a dual MMT cluster ignitor out o' a length o' nichrome wire. A small square o' tabe was used t' hold t' t' filament in each nozzle. Ahoy! T' rocket was balanced on a clothespin t' keep t' igniter leads up off o' t' standard Estes Portapad blast plate. Begad! When t' wire leads were touched t' t' 14V cordless drill battery, t' MIB Flyin' Gold Cone struggled up off t' pad, arced over about 15 feet off t' ground, ya bilge rat, arrr, me hearties, and ejected its nose just before sinkin' into t' snowy yard. Ya scallywag! No damage was done. Blimey! Upon inspection, me bucko, it was obvious that only one engine ignited, matey, though both ignitors burned through. Begad! Begad! I suspect one filament may have slipped away from t' propellant. Arrr!

Review o' a digital launch video shows t' rocket leapin' almost out o' frame betwixt one image and t' next. T' rocket then lingers, dancin' at t' top o' t' rod, arrr, ya bilge rat, for three more images. Well, matey, blow me down! I believe the uneven thrust, arrr, coupled with t' single high mounted launch lug, caused the rocket t' bind on t' rod, and have insufficient speed for stability as it cleared t' rod. Ya scallywag! I have made a design change t' t' MMX Cluster Adapter that should address this in future flights. Ya scallywag! Begad! I added a launch lug on t' bindin' ring of t' Cluster Adapter. T' pair o' lugs should help guide t' rocket up the rod if one o' t' engines fails t' fire.